


Reflection

by ColourlessZero



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Chance Meetings, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Insomnia, Long-Distance Friendship, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Rare Pairings, Sharing a Bed, Skype, Sleepovers, Slice of Life, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Texting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-05-10 12:28:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5585347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColourlessZero/pseuds/ColourlessZero
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is getting ridiculous. Ennoshita swears that the universe is playing some kind of trick on him or maybe he has somehow landed himself in a poorly written movie. It’s not that Akaashi is an unpleasant person. In fact, just knowing that someone else aside from himself is also sleeplessly strolling through the halls is a comforting thought. It seems to make the possibility of meeting a ghost an absurd idea. A silly thought. This! This though, is ridiculous. In a span of less than an hour he had met Akaashi on his stroll at least an additional six times. He didn’t bother counting after that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chance Meetings and Awkwardness

**Author's Note:**

> I really like this pairing and was disappointed to find so little material for it. Hopefully this humble offering makes someone happy to find it.

_Every school has their own little legend. Be it a sports legend or a notebook that gives you perfect grades if you touch it. The most common however, is the school ghost. Complete with some sort of tragic incident to give it a reason to stay in the human world._

_Shinzen High is no exception to the rule. Their resident ghost is an old one. So old that nobody could definitively recall whether the ghost was a boy or a girl. So old that nobody can agree on how they died or even what kind of person they had once been. The ghost is so old that the truth had become murky and faded from the fickle nature of human memory, leaving behind nothing but its name: Akira. Only two things are consistent in every story and rumour about Akira. One is its appearance: beautifully pale skin and dark hair. The second is the most important detail of all. Akira would steal your reflection, replacing it with its own pale face and ask you questions. Questions that cast an all consuming shadow over you, bringing up doubts, insecurity and fears you didn’t even know you had to the forefront of your mind. Akira’s darkness eats away at you until there is nothing left to devour. Until you become Akira and Akira becomes you._

Ennoshita looked at his typed up research from earlier on his phone with approval. It is because of this mysterious ghost story that he is strolling through the dark and empty halls of Shinzen High well after his teammates have already gone to bed. The first day of training camp was gruelling, but even then his tired body refused to let him sleep. Or is it the allure of the story that keeps him awake this time? A ghost shrouded in mystery with a psychological edge. Akira could have been anybody coping with doubt and insecurity. Ennoshita found this mysterious ghost to be oddly relatable. Akira’s story is simply an irresistible idea in how human those feelings are. It would definitely translate well on film. Or maybe, yet again, his brain is just rationalising his mysterious reasons for procrastinating on sleep. Honestly, he can’t tell someone why he can’t sleep even if they asked since he can’t seem to figure out the answer himself. With a feeling of resignation, he supposes that it’s fine as long as he’s being productive in some way. So here he is, his steady but sluggish footsteps the only sound to keep him company as he taps away on his phone whenever inspiration strikes.

Though the layout of classrooms and facilities is similar to Karasuno’s, Shinzen is definitely bigger. It must be because Shinzen has more students. He imagines that during the day the school is just another building containing chattering students bustling about. Sunlight streaming through the large windows that line the corridors. At night, however, the school takes on a life of its own. It awakens.

The doors he pass by creak and heave like gaping mouths. It’s such a cliche, but he always expects the door he passes to close on its own. Yet, when it remains open he couldn’t help but stare into its maw filled with empty seats and shudder. When he nears a vending machine the low hum of electricity transforms into the rattling breath of a dying beast. The most unnerving feature is the way the wide, glassy windows look out into the night. Thick blackness pricked by tiny dots of light coming from other buildings in the distance. It makes him feel like he’s being watched by something hiding in the dark. What if those are eyes and not lights at all? Slamming his foot down on the brakes of his imagination he berates himself, _Stop that, Chikara. You know that they’re streetlights._

He wants to meet the ghost as research material for a possible horror film, but at the same time he has suddenly grown attached to his plain reflection during his midnight stroll. On the bright side, all these feelings and the contrast between the school during the day and during the night would be excellent inspiration.

Ennoshita begins tapping down his thoughts into his smartphone to distract himself from the gaping doors when he looks up with eyes frozen wide, goosebumps blooming across his skin. The corridor has become impossibly cold.

There at the other end of the corridor is a pale face framed by dark curls gilded in silver blue highlights. Luminous and bright, punctuated with shadows the face is floating towards Ennoshita. Its eyes were two gaping holes.

Dashing into the nearest classroom, Ennoshita clings to his phone, his only light source. He got his wish about finding Akira and now he’s presented with a rare opportunity. He takes a deep breath, counts to three and lets out a shaky exhale. He presses the record button with a trembling finger. Carefully framing the shot to have a clear view out the doorway, he holds the phone in a death grip and thrusts it in front of him.

For good measure, he clamps his eyes shut. Maybe Akira wouldn’t be able to steal his reflection if he doesn't make eye contact. The idea is silly, but it reassures him all the same. Now all he has to do is wait.

Ennoshita’s hearing strains against the silence. Soon enough he hears slow and muted footsteps. In the still silence those quiet footsteps are nothing but deafening. Only becoming louder and louder until it drowns out his quickening pulse thrumming in his ears. His eyes are shut so tightly he sees tiny bursts of light dancing behind his eyelids. At some point Ennoshita stopped breathing.

“GEH!!!”

“Ouch!” Ennoshita jumps in surprise, knocking into a desk nearby.

That “geh” didn’t sound like a ghost at all. A somewhat manly scream? Turning his face to the side he slowly opens one of his eyes to peek at the source of the odd noise. What he sees is Fukurodani’s setter scrambling to pick up his phone.

Upon noticing his bewildered stare, the setter coughs lightly into his fist before clasping his hands behind his back. The very picture of calm composure save for the lightest tinge of pink on his pale cheeks. He gives Ennoshita a curt nod, “Good evening…?” he raises a hand, palm up towards Ennoshita questioningly.

Ennoshita quickly straightens up returning a polite nod, “Ennoshita. Ennoshita Chikara.”

“Good evening, Ennoshita-san. I'm Akaashi Keiji.”

Ennoshita smiles. He already knew Akaashi’s name because Bokuto had been screaming his name before, during and after every set. Fukurodani’s ace is a fireball of energy while the setter is calm and steady. In that sense, Akaashi reminds him of Suga but quieter and, he guesses, less sly. “Good evening, Akaashi-san. What might you be doing at this hour?“

“A midnight stroll to help with sleep. And you?“

“Oh! You have trouble sleeping too? I was ghost hunting, but it seems I don't have the stomach for it after all.” Ennoshita smiles sheepishly.

“I can see why you have trouble sleeping.” A half smile plays on Akaashi’s lips.

Ennoshita couldn't help but laugh, “Chasing ghosts really is counter-intuitive isn't it?”

“I'll see you tomorrow, Ennoshita-san.”

“Yes, see you tomorrow, Akaashi-san.”

They give each other a slight bow and go in their separate ways.

+

With lack of anything to do, Ennoshita decides to see what his phone had recorded. Akaashi’s unexpected appearance had really taken him by surprise! If the footage looks good maybe he can convince Akaashi to play Akira in the future.

Flicking through his phone he finds the footage. The hall is dark and quiet as he walks alone, his face bathed in light. He tries very hard to keep a straight face until his phone releases a tiny “geh!!” and he struggles to keep in his laugh. Clutching his sides, his eyes start watering.

Akaashi is a guy with very elegant and dignified features. All high cheekbones and sharp angles framed with dark curls. Akaashi in the footage though...How should he put it. Not exactly ugly. Just startling to see an expression other than calmness on his face. The fear made his eyes open wide and his mouth twist down at the corners, scrunching up his skin to create impressive wrinkles and folds. A fantastic imitation of Munch’s The Scream.

Looking up, he flinches when he catches his reflection in the window. The way the phone lights up his face from below makes it look like he has abyssal black holes for eyes. With his fair skin and dark hair, no wonder Akaashi made such an amusing---no, such a frightened face. He chuckles to himself, Akaashi must have thought he was Akira when he was hiding in that classroom.

Curious, Ennoshita moves the phone about his face. The pale blue glow casts shapes of light and shadow on his plain features. It’s amazing how different a face can look when the light hits it at different angles. He wonders which angle would make him look more awake as shadows stretch and slip across his skin.

“Ennoshita-san, what are you doing?”

Startled, Ennoshita almost drops his phone.

“A-akaashi-san!” Surprise and heat sweeps over his face. How much did Akaashi see? “You scared me.” Was Akaashi here when he was playing with lighting his face? He must have looked like an idiot. Embarrassment keeps his face uncomfortably hot.

“You shouldn’t be ghost hunting if you get scared so easily.” Akaashi says with a subtly playful lilt.

“Well, not as scared as you when we were at that classroom.” Smirking just a little, Ennoshita remembers that comical facial expression of fear very well from the footage on his phone.  

“You were equally scared. You knocked into a table.”

A moment of silence, then they both laugh. Laughing at how silly their chance encounters have been thus far.

“Two regular human beings scared of pale figures with dark hair in the night. Really, lots of people have pale skin and dark hair. Akira could literally look like any person in the crowd.” Akaashi is surprisingly eloquent even when the words tumble out alongside his musical laughter. It’s a soothing, mellow sound neither too high or too low, just like a viola.

“That’s true! That actually makes a lot of sense.” Ennoshita says between gasps of laughter.

Quickly, he taps that thought down on his phone. Why hadn’t he thought of that before? It seems really obvious now.

This guy is smart both on and off court. If his intuition is right, Akaashi doesn’t let small details, like the fact that pale skin and dark hair is not at all uncommon, slip away unnoticed no matter how obvious they seem to be.

The laughter dies down and he finishes typing up Akaashi’s line on his phone.

Ennoshita catches himself staring at Akaashi and his eyes quickly dart to a window instead. Hopefully Akaashi didn’t notice. If he had then his face didn’t show it.

Ennoshita’s restless feet shuffle almost imperceptibly. It's so _awkward_. There’s no other way to put it. Neither of them really know what to say, especially since they had already said their “goodnights” and “see-you-tomorrows”.

Ennoshita breaks the silence, “Goodnight, for real this time.” He can handle awkward greetings if it means cutting short an embarrassing interaction for both of them.

“Goodnight, Ennoshita-san.”

+

This is getting ridiculous. Ennoshita swears that the universe is playing some kind of trick on him or maybe he has somehow landed himself in a poorly written movie. It’s not that Akaashi is an unpleasant person. In fact, just knowing that someone else aside from himself is also sleeplessly strolling through the halls is a comforting thought. It seems to make the possibility of meeting a ghost an absurd idea. A silly thought. This! This though, is ridiculous. In a span of less than an hour he had met Akaashi on his stroll at least an additional six times. He didn’t bother counting after that.

Now here they are. Awkwardly standing in the glow of a vending machine about to exchange empty pleasantries for the n-th time. Why does this scene feel familiar? Ah, because they have bumped into each other in front of this very same vending machine for the third time. This can’t continue.

“Akaashi-san, why don’t we walk together?” Ennoshita suggested, resting his hand on the back of his neck. “We seem to keep on bumping into each other.” _I swear I’m not stalking you._

Akaashi is silent, he looks like he’s thinking although it’s hard to tell with his eternally unruffled expression. Aside from what Ennoshita’s footage had caught previously of course. He could almost hear the gears turning in Akaashi’s head and then click into place.

“It’s true that it’s pointless to walk separately when we keep running into each other.”

It is decided then and they walk together in comfortable silence. This is a pleasant change to what Ennoshita is used to. Tanaka and Noya are both loud and hot headed. Living hurricanes are what they are. It can be tiring sometimes, especially when he needs to keep them in line, but he fondly enjoys the endless entertainment they bring just by being around them. In contrast Akaashi is quiet, but not shy from what Ennoshita has seen. Rather, he doesn’t feel the need to fill up every bit of silence.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Akaashi fish out his phone from his pockets,  “Ennoshita-san, it’s already 3:00AM. We should probably try to get some sleep even if it’s unlikely.”

“So late already. I don’t feel tired enough to fall asleep, but you’re right.” Ennoshita glanced at Akaashi. “Even if it’s ten minutes of sleep, it’s still ten minutes.”

As they go back to their respective rooms they give each other a friendly wave so they won’t wake their teammates.


	2. Moonlight and Milk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The list of things one can do on a sleepless night is endless. The most relaxing is probably looking at the moon or sipping at a warm drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For subscribers to this fic, I'm so happy you guys liked this story enough to subscribe =D I'll try my best to update this fic once a week. 
> 
> I appreciate you all so much ^w^

One of the few treasures of being an insomniac is being able to see the moon regardless of its shifting rising and setting times. Unsurprisingly, Akaashi is appreciating the moonlit scenery right now with cool logical precision. Shapes of light and shadow painted in the blue and grey palette of the night. He presses the button. _Yes, an excellent photo._ Bringing the phone close to his face he squints at it and frowns, _but Shinzen needs to clean their windows._

Searching the glass, he tries to find a clean patch to take a better photo. Yes, he could edit out the dirt, but it’s a nuisance he’d rather avoid. It’s best to aim for the best shot possible for both quality and time. There’s a really good spot to his left where he could frame the moon in the shot with a transmission tower just to its right. In the moonlight it looks like a long, spindly tower of silver needles. Unfortunately, there’s an unpleasant smattering of bird poop right there. Slightly annoyed at the state of the window, he begins walking further.

“Oh, are you finished?” Ennoshita asks from a nearby bench.

Akaashi shakes his head with an apologetic shrug of the shoulders, “Not yet. I’ll still be here for a while.”

Ennoshita smiles in understanding, crinkling the corners of his sleepy eyes, “It’s fine, take as much time as you need,” and returns to whatever it is he’s doing on his phone. “I’ll wait here.”

_He’s good company, that Ennoshita_ , thinks Akaashi. There’s a warm calmness around him that puts Akaashi at ease. What Akaashi likes the most is that he’s not in a rush to be anywhere and he’s content to do his own thing while Akaashi meticulously frames his shots. A rare luxury he can’t afford with his usual group of friends. They’re very rambunctious, especially Bokuto. He can’t keep still and would fidget, fluttering about like a restless owl, if Akaashi took too long taking photos. Reluctantly, he admits that he does take a little too long. On a more positive note, because of his friends he has learned to spot the best angles and make snap decisions to take a good shot in under three seconds.

He and Ennoshita had coincidentally met up earlier in the night not far off from their assigned classrooms. Since neither of them would be doing much anyway, they had decided to keep each other company. Akaashi is secretly relieved. He would never admit it, but he hates ghosts. If they really do exist then that would be horrible. It would mean that there’s a life after death. A disturbing idea that’s unknown to anyone, speculations and theories unable to be proven by scientific methods. Call him boring, but Akaashi would rather believe that there’s nothing beyond death. It’s much simpler than worrying about whether he’ll end up in heaven or hell and a thousand times more comforting than wondering if he’ll be a chicken in his next reincarnation, or worse, an ant.

“Pfft.”

Akaashi quirks an eyebrow as he takes his last shot. He turns around just in time to see Ennoshita erupt into a fit of giggles, shoulders curled in and a hand over his mouth trying to stifle the low rumble bubbling up from his chest.

This is a far more pleasant sight compared to last night in that dark classroom. Looking at Ennoshita laughing with his soft, friendly features and sleepy eyes Akaashi wonders how he could have ever mistook him for a malevolent spirit.

“What’s so funny there?” Akaashi cranes his neck to peek at Ennoshita’s phone.

“Ahh, wait a minute.” Ennoshita presses a few buttons. “You have to read it from the beginning.” He hands his phone to Akaashi.

Only a few pages in and now Akaashi is the one trying to hold in his laughter. “This is great! What is it?”

“It’s Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun. I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t like it.” Ennoshita grins. “Do you want a link? I’ll send it to you.”

“Sure, thank you, Ennoshita-san.”

“It’s no problem.”

They hastily swap contact info and Akaashi is happy to have a new source of entertainment.

“Can I see your photos, Akaashi-san?” Ennoshita’s sleepy eyes are bright and curious.

“Of course. Thanks for being patient with me. I know I take a long time to take them.” _He deserves at least that much for waiting so long_ , thought Akaashi.

Ennoshita leans into the glow of Akaashi’s phone, his expression changing to one of childish delight, “Ohhhh! I didn’t know you could see Tokyo Tower from here. That’s amazing.”

“That’s just a regular transmission tower, but thanks for the compliment.” Akaashi says in an even tone.

With hardly a moment’s pause Ennoshita puts a hand on his hip “As expected, Akaashi-san,” and gestures towards the photo with an open palm, “Your skill makes a transmission tower look like Tokyo Tower.”

Narrowing his eyes at Ennoshita, Akaashi takes in the aura of confidence in his squared shoulders and the hint of a smirk playing at his lips.

“Smooth.” Akaashi begrudgingly admits that it was a nice save. He’s a little envious and wishes that he could think that fast. Sometimes in the middle of sleepless nights his brain would supply him with top quality replies days after certain conversations. It would be more helpful if it hadn’t taken days to think of a suitable reply.

Soon, they bid each other goodnight. Akaashi doesn’t believe he’ll find more than an hour of sleep, but with a new manga to read from Ennoshita surely he won’t be too bored.

~+~

On the third and last night of training camp, Ennoshita and Akaashi find themselves running into each other at the kitchen door. Literally, in fact. They had both tried to go through the door at the same time without really watching where they were going. After several awkward bouts of apologies, “After you”s and “No, I insist”s they settle into a comfortable silence in the kitchen.

Ennoshita moves about the kitchen as though it is his own. He had paid attention to where everything was when the managers had been preparing food during the training camp. Finding coffee grounds on the top shelf he eagerly opens the bag and draws in a deep breath. Closing his eyes, he drowns in the reviving scent of caffeine. Warm and rich with a touch of bitterness. Quickly, he pours some coffee grounds and a few generous spoonfuls of a spice mix he brought with him into the coffee maker. Ennoshita eyes Akaashi lingering just inside the doorway. He almost looks lost and unsure of what to do if not for the permanently calm expression on his face. His eyes however, seem to be lazily trailing along the kitchen with a sense of apprehension. Ennoshita guesses that he’s probably not sure where the things he needs are.

“Akaashi-san, I’ll make you something, too. Do you want tea or coffee?” Ennoshita calls over his shoulder.

Akaashi is bent over, one hand on his knee, peering inside the fridge, “How about milk?” His other hand rummages through the fridge.

“Ohhh, for good sleep?”

“Yeah.” Akaashi nods and straightens up, closing the fridge. Milk carton in hand he holds it up to his ear and gives it a light shake to see how much is left.

“Does it work?” Ennoshita asks hopefully. If it works, maybe he can give it a try.

“Unfortunately, no.” Akaashi pours out some milk in a mug and heats it up in the microwave. “I wish it did though. Now I drink it out of habit.”

Oh, what a shame. Before long, his own beverage is ready. They stand there silently sipping on their own respective drinks. Ennoshita is in caffeinated bliss, indulging in every flavour dancing across his tongue. Bitter with a spicy burn softened by a touch of sweetness with cinnamon floating over top of it all.

“Why are you drinking coffee though? Wouldn’t that keep you up?”

“Well, it’s the last night of training camp and it’s the weekend tomorrow.” Ennoshita shrugs. “So there’s no reason to try and get a good night’s sleep anyway. Besides, I really like coffee.” He happily takes another long sip.

“I don’t think I can argue with that.” says Akaashi, a slight smile playing on the edges of his mouth.

Closing his eyes, Ennoshita drowns in his coffee. Inhaling the inviting scent that reminds him of home and relishing in the velvety texture of his spiced drink. He likes to imagine that by closing his eyes it would somehow make the drink last longer and make the flavours more intense.

After a while, Ennoshita almost forgets about Akaashi until he feels like he’s being watched. The tiny hairs on his cheek standing up all of a sudden. Sure enough, when he finally pays attention to his surroundings Akaashi is staring holes into his face.

Akaashi hands him some tissues.

“Thank you,” Ennoshita stares at the tissues in his hand. Where did he find these? “But why are you giving me tissues?”

“You’ve got a coffee moustache.”

His eyes widen and he wipes his mouth hurriedly with the tissues. There really was quite a significant coffee moustache on him, the moustache leaving behind quite a large, moist imprint on the tissues. Embarrassed, the tips of his ears start burning. For goodness sake he’s not a child any more! He drinks his coffee much slower so it wouldn’t happen again. On the bright side he’s not eating burgers right now. When he eats burgers the filling seems to creep out from the buns and before he knows it there’s a mess to clean up.

Then he gets this strange fuzzy feeling on his face again. It’s a kind of warm prickling across a spot of skin just beside his mouth, though it’s not exactly unpleasant. The sensation is difficult to describe, but it is something Ennoshita calls “the non-touch of someone looking at you”.

Peering at Akaashi, the other boy turns his head away a little too quickly.

_Curious_ , thought Ennoshita, eyebrows raising a bit. He gets back to sipping his drink. Feeling that non-touch again he looks at Akaashi. Every time he does, Akaashi would dart his eyes somewhere else.

Amused, Ennoshita hides his smile by drinking his coffee. This time he’s more subtle, only sliding his eyes to the side to look at Akaashi beneath his eyelashes.

Akaashi doesn’t notice at all, his eyes staying where they are. Those eyes aren’t looking at Ennoshita at all, but rather his fragrant mug of coffee. _Maybe he would like to try some? He’s most likely the type that’s too polite to ask for a sip,_ Ennoshita looks down thoughtfully into the rich reddish-brown of his swirling coffee.

“Akaashi-san, would you like to try some?” he holds out the mug.

“That’s very kind of you,” Akaashi hesitates, “are you sure?” His hand moves to take the mug all the same.

Grinning, Ennoshita firmly settles the mug into Akaashi’s outstretched hand. He just knows that Akaashi is going to love the drink.

Akaashi slowly raises the mug to his lips as though it’s ambrosia. When his lips meet the velvety texture of the coffee his calm expression falls away. It’s like watching a magician pull away silk cloth to reveal some sort of marvelous surprise. The calm falls away like that cloth. Akaashi’s eyes widen, his face completely relaxes and lips part slightly. It lasts only for a moment before the face of calm control ripples back into place.

Ennoshita is amazed. That is another face he never thought he’d see on Akaashi. He’s sure that Akaashi has a wide range of expressions, but it’s still interesting to see someone who looks so composed all the time let their guard down and show what they’re really feeling on their face.

Akaashi almost reluctantly hands back Ennoshita’s mug, “That tasted amazing. What did you put in it?”

“It’s my own special spice blend.” Ennoshita replies, puffing out his chest proudly. “Hey, I have an idea.” He gestures for Akaashi’s mug.

A flicker of anticipation briefly appears on Akaashi’s face as he hands over his milk. Ennoshita swears that Akaashi is close to sparkling like Hinata. Ennoshita can almost see the excited expression bubbling beneath Akaashi’s skin, but his face remains utterly composed. As still and unchanging as a mirror.

Taking a clean spoon, he scoops a couple of spoonfuls of his special spices into his milk. Then he looks around in one of the cabinets, “Ah! Here it is.” Very carefully, he dips just the tip of the spoon into the jar of honey and brings it up into a long, thin strand of transparent gold. Twirling the spoon deftly in his fingers he coils up the thread of honey before stirring it into the spiced milk.

He gives the mug back to Akaashi and he accepts it eagerly, immediately taking an experimental sip. Akaashi makes the same face when he tried the coffee, but this time he doesn’t school his features to hide the slip of his mask. Looking at him straight in the eye, Akaashi says plainly “You’re amazing, Ennoshita-san.”

Ennoshita blinks in surprise, taken aback. He didn’t expect that at all. Unsure what to reply he gets back to his drink and mumbles an embarrassed “Thanks.”

They finish up their delicious drinks and head off to bed. Of course, later on, they somehow wake up at the same time to go to the bathroom.

“We’ve bumped into each other so much, even our bladders have synced.” Laughs Ennoshita.

Akaashi looks mildly disgusted, “Gross.” However, his mouth breaks into a grin he quickly tries to smother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you guys think? Feedback? Let me know in the comments!
> 
> You can find me on tumblr as well, come scream with me: 
> 
>  [ **colourlesszero**](http://colourlesszero.tumblr.com/)


	3. White Noise and Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If Ennoshita and Akaashi found the perfect method to fall asleep, who would fall asleep faster?

After training camp Ennoshita keeps in touch with Akaashi. They even worked together to make a few films and found out they made a good team. Before long, small talk, careful politeness and honorifics fell away until they only knew each other as “Chikara” and “Keiji”.

As they spend more sleepless nights keeping each other company, Ennoshita notices little things about Akaashi. 

Akaashi is very punctual.  They have an unspoken agreement that they would be online at 9pm. Ennoshita can’t remember how it happened, but it feels natural, like the cycles of the moon or how the pot of daffodils by his window always bloomed in Spring without fail. Akaashi would be there not one second sooner or later than that exact time. Then, right on the dot at 10pm Akaashi would excuse himself and Ennoshita would see him in the background meticulously folding his gym clothes before arranging it into his bag alongside everything else he needed for the next day. 

Eventually, Ennoshita became observant enough to pinpoint what Akaashi needed on any given day during the week, “Socks, you forgot socks.” 

“Thanks, Chikara.”

Akaashi is also rather health conscious. Personally, Ennoshita likes turning the lights off when he’s on the computer. Akaashi, on the other hand, prefers a brightly lit room, “If you look at electronic devices in a poorly lit room your eyes would go bad.” Akaashi had looked at Ennoshita pointedly on the other side of the screen and Ennoshita grinned.

As usual, Ennoshita is huddled up in his dark room finishing up homework while Akaashi is busy preparing for the next day in his brightly lit one. Scribbling down the answer to the last question, Ennoshita patiently waits for Akaashi to get back. 

Akaashi slides smoothly down on his chair with his hands wrapped around a steaming cup of what Ennoshita guesses is the milk he drinks every night, “Alright, what are we doing tonight?”

“Tonight,” Ennoshita gives a dramatic pause with a flourish of his hands, “we’re going to be productive.”

Leaning forward an eyebrow raised and sharp green eyes narrowed, Akaashi looks downright villainous as a rare smile slips onto his lips, “Really? Not world domination?” Reclining in his chair, he takes a long sip from his cup, closing his eyes briefly. “You say that every night but we end up watching awful movies.”

“That counts as being productive. It’s a good reference for how  _ not _ to make a movie.”

“Why can’t we watch good movies to learn how to make them then, Mr. Director?” Akaashi watches him silently over his cup, face wreathed in steam with scrutinising eyes. Sharp, green, perceptive eyes that pierced through that pale white fog and shattered past Ennoshita’s electronic screen.

Ennoshita shivers under his unexpectedly intense gaze. Sometimes he forgets how sharp Akaashi is. Usually Akaashi goes with the flow, swept along by Ennoshita’s passionate pursuit to bring a vision to life. However, there are times when Ennoshita finds himself lost in plotlines riddled with holes and dreaded creative blocks. Before he could drown in a maelstrom of frustration and self-doubt, Akaashi would sweep his eyes over the problem with methodical precision. Sharp as a knife, solutions Ennoshita had never considered before would be extracted out of the mess. If anything, Ennoshita learned that Akaashi is a person with an overwhelming presence who skilfully blends into the background until he is needed.

It’s been awhile since his last film and this time instead of a parody he wants to create something original. Akira, the ghost of Shinzen is the main inspiration for it and is to become his first try at weaving suspense and horror on film. He had outlined the plot and began writing the script but somewhere along the way the words wouldn’t come. Then he decided to look over what he had so far and couldn’t bear to give it a second glance. His writing was immature compared to the films he admired. When he watched them he couldn’t help but be in awe and wonder how they managed to weave such a intricate stories, revealing details in a subtle way. He saw everything his films were not. The more he thought about it the more daunting the project became. Since then he would glance at his unfinished script everyday and promise himself, “Tomorrow.” 

Ennoshita suspects that Akaashi already knows that he’s running away, given how perceptive he is. But right now, he isn’t ready to go back to it yet. At least, not today. He glances at the script tucked away on the shelf,  _ Tomorrow. _

Schooling his features into a relaxed mask with a nondescript smile, for once Ennoshita is glad for his sleepy eyes. They give him a permanently calm look in his eye that belies his anxiety. 

“I was thinking we should be more productive about finding sleep.”

“Leaving so soon?” Akaashi asks with a casual lilt to his voice, thumbing through a photography magazine. 

Ennoshita heard the unspoken question beneath those words,  _ Are you running away?  _

“No!” He answers a little too quickly. Heat floods into his cheeks,  _ Thank goodness my room is always dark. _ He rests his hand on the back of his neck, “I mean, I was thinking maybe we haven’t tried everything. Maybe there are better ways to fall asleep that we haven’t thought about.”

Yes, yes. This is sounding better and better in his head. Health is important, so this diversion would still be useful even if he didn’t work on the script tonight.

Akaashi doesn’t look like he would buy this excuse though, watching Ennoshita from the other side of the screen with his lips pursed. “If you say so.” He replies tentatively after a long pause. 

Ennoshita tries not to heave a sigh of relief now that he’s convinced Akaashi not to probe the problem. Another of Akaashi’s features: he doesn’t pry.

“To make it more interesting how about we turn it into a competition.” 

Akaashi looks at him, his face flat with skepticism, “Wait, wait. How exactly do you win at sleeping?”

“Simple, we each come up with a method to use tonight and whoever falls asleep fastest wins.”

“Hmmmm, sounds reasonable.” 

“Winner can request the loser to do anything.” 

“ _ Anything? _ ” Interest sparks in Akaashi’s eyes, a wry smile on his lips.

Ennoshita blinks, his mind suddenly blank. Rewinding to his recent words, he realises that anything is a dangerous word, but he can’t back out now that he’s said it. He holds up a finger, “Only once though.”

_ Why does Keiji look so interested anyway? _ Ennoshita wonders what Akaashi would possibly request if he won. Nothing particularly striking comes to mind though. Probably demand that he turn the lights on when on the computer for the rest of his life? 

He doesn’t have time to dwell on it though.

A determined fire flickers in Akaashi’s eyes and the set of his jaw, a small but confident smile playing on his lips, he nods once in assent and begins typing and clicking furiously, “You should hurry up, Chikara.” He flicks up his green eyes at Ennoshita, “I’m getting quite a head start.”

+

As Ennoshita delves into his sleep research he feels more and more energised. Motivated, proactive even. He feels the pleasant burn of having made progress in his mind, a feeling that was missing when he tried to attack his script.

Akaashi’s regime involves meditation and special audio tracks he downloads from the internet that plays white noise. Apparently it muffles distracting noises and gives a nice backdrop of sound to soothe the mind. “I can’t stop thinking about things before bed,” Akaashi explains.

The white noise actually sounds awful, but Ennoshita keeps quiet. He wants to win, after all.

While doing his research, Ennoshita had gotten sidetracked. So his regime is a little different. The goal has changed from falling asleep to something bigger and better: lucid dreaming. The idea that it would be possible to do all kinds of crazy things in a dream consciously, with the only limitation being your imagination, is fun and exciting to him. Enticing enough to make him want to sleep. The real problem with Ennoshita’s sleeplessness is that he simply doesn’t want to, though he knows that his body needs it.

Thus, his regime is to keep a dream journal, frequent reality checks and finally meditation to jump right into a dream. From what he’s read, it’s fairly intuitive even though it takes practice. With the promise of adventure in the depths of his own mind, he wouldn’t mind practising for it at all. 

Ennoshita’s thoughts drifted, “You know our ace, Asahi-san?” 

“The one with the long hair?” Akaashi holds up his notes for closer inspection, glancing briefly at Ennoshita.

“Yea, he drinks chamomile and lavender tea every day. Apparently that helps him with his anxiety before bedtime.”

“I would never have pegged him to be the anxious type. I thought he was kind of intimidating.”

Ennoshita waves a hand and laughs, “Not at all! He has a glass heart, the giant teddy bear.”

Then suddenly the chirping of birds burst from the air jolting the two of them from their seats. Unbelievable. Ennoshita dashes to the window and rips the curtains open only to be blinded by the rising sun, “Seriously?!” He winces and rubs the heels of his palms into his aching eyes.

Akaashi heaves a weary sigh, “How ironic. I think we both lost since neither of us got any sleeping done.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a late update, been writing for OiSuga week! If you're into this pairing, you can read what I wrote [**here**](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5702806/chapters/13137061) if you're interested.
> 
> Hopefully this chapter isn't too boring for you guys. We're still in the slow build part of the story. Anyway, let me know what you think below in the comments!


	4. Ink and Pixels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ennoshita procrastinates and Akaashi, as always, is patient.

Their conversation has long since lulled to a stop as they sometimes did and Akaashi can hear the lightest touch of rain dotting his window. A soft pitter patter with the absence of wind. Just the type of rainy night he enjoyed with Ennoshita’s quiet company. He can only think of two things that can make this rainy night even better: a crackling fire and smooth jazz.

It’s an odd habit, but even on days they don’t say more than a brief “Hello” their Skype stays open to keep each other’s silent company. Despite their distance and lack of conversation, to Akaashi it doesn’t feel lonely at all. It’s more of a comforting sort of silence when friends are simply content to be breathing in the same room. In their case, the knowledge that they are breathing together with an internet connection.

Akaashi looks briefly at Ennoshita to see what he’s doing tonight and wonders if it’s raining in Miyagi as well. To his surprise he finds Ennoshita looking directly at him.

It has happened more than once, of course, but Akaashi still becomes startled at the unexpected eye contact. Just like when he is in a bus and looks into another car only to find the passenger already looking at him. It is the same sort of surprise and faint hint of awkwardness.

The difference with Ennoshita is that he always steadfastly maintains eye contact. “Keiji, do you want to draw?”

However, Akaashi with his sharp senses notices Ennoshita flick his eyes to the side almost imperceptibly as he asks this. From that alone he can tell that Ennoshita is procrastinating on something. Probably on something he’s afraid of messing up. Akaashi had tried to get him to talk about it once, but he seemed reluctant so he never brought it up again. With Ennoshita he found that the more he pushes the more likely Ennoshita would avoid the subject altogether. A more gentle, patient approach is more effective.

Ennoshita looks like he’s not going to drop the subject until they get drawing. “Let’s draw each other. It’ll be fun!” Waving a tablet pen in front of the camera, Ennoshita has excitement gleaming in his eyes.

Admittedly, Akaashi is reluctant. He had tried to draw his cousin once and it didn’t turn out well at all. She cried and asked his aunt if she was ugly. Understandably, he felt quite awful about it. “What makes you think I can draw?”

“You just look like the kind of person who can draw.” Ennoshita motioned his hands at Akaashi’s face on his screen.

How rare that the quick thinking Ennoshita is unable to find the words to describe something. Akaashi is intrigued and issues a silent challenge with a question to see how Ennoshita can think his way to an interesting answer, “Oh? What do those people look like?”

“Hang on a minute.”

Skype pings with an image attachment. As always, Ennoshita does not disappoint. Akaashi tries to stifle his laughter, careful to muffle it behind his hand.

“Ok, that’s pretty clever.” The picture is a screenshot of Akaashi with a little red beret sitting atop his head with the addition of a big, puffy moustache above his lips. How can he not reward Ennoshita? He’s a very smart, lateral thinker and Akaashi admires that. “I’ll draw you, but don’t get offended if it looks weird.”

Rummaging around the shelves in his room, Akaashi plucks out some of his favourite dip pens, a few brushes, watercolour pans and some nice, thick watercolour paper that he had forgotten about. Now would be an excellent time to put them to use. Reaching up, he grabs his bottle of indian ink and extra glasses: one for soapy water and another for plain water.

Once he has everything he meticulously sets everything on his desk in his preferred order. Little pans of watercolour arranged in chromatic order from red through to violet line the top edge of the board he had taped his paper to. The indian ink and glasses sit in the top right corner for easy access with brushes and dip pens lined up in frequency of use.

Akaashi looks over the arrangement and gives it a nod of approval, “I’m ready.”

“Fancy,” Remarks Ennoshita when he sees that Akaashi’s desk is covered entirely with art supplies, “And you were trying to convince me that you couldn’t draw.”

“It’s not that I can’t draw,” With three different nibs balanced in his hands, Akaashi looks between them for a long time before deciding on a nice, broad italic nib. “I’m just not good at drawing people.” He fits the nib into the pen holder as carefully as a mother would tenderly tuck in a child.

“Alright, let’s start.”

Looking hard at Ennoshita’s face on his screen, Akaashi wishes he had longer hair so that he doesn’t have to draw his ears. Maybe a nice long fringe over one eye so that he can get away with drawing just one eye as well. On the bright side, at least he doesn’t have to draw hands and feet. Akaashi briefly recalls all the people he had drawn with hands in their pockets, behind their backs or behind their heads and cringes. Maybe he really should practise drawing hands more.

Going through his mind, Akaashi briefly reviews his current skill-level. What can he do and how much can he get away with? He can draw hair just fine, lips are no problem and if it’s just one eye he can do it. The nose and ears though...definitely not. The nose usually ends up looking like a sad, droopy balloon while the ears end up looking like unfortunate vegetables.

A flash of inspiration flickers through him and he sees the image in his mind. He can hear the air moving sharply with every wing beat and he can almost feel the touch of dark feathers. Among the flurry of feathers and wind, there is Ennoshita. Standing strong with a sort of hidden intensity beneath his dark hair and sleepy eyes.

Dipping the nib in the ink, he begins roughing out the main lines of Ennoshita’s hair and the sprawling wings of a crow. The nib runs across the paper and he can feel every miniscule pit in the paper and he loses himself in the almost unnoticeable landscape that only his nib can detect. Gradually, he feels the freedom that relaxes his arm and he begins to draw on instinct alone. He barely notices himself make the decision to switch to brushes once he has the rough outlines down.

From Ennoshita’s side Akaashi can see his tablet pen swishing and tapping on the tablet with practised ease and freedom, not unlike his own with pens and brushes.

“Is it hard to get used to using a tablet? It must be a little weird not seeing the line come out of the pen and having to match up the movement to the screen in front of you.”

“It takes some time to get used to. Traditional media scares me though,” Ennoshita laughs, “There’s no back button to take away mistakes and it’s such a pain to clean up afterwards.”

“That’s because you’re a slob, Chikara.”

“Well, you’re not wrong.” Ennoshita shrugs. “What do you do when there’s a mistake?”

As soon as the word “mistake” was uttered, Akaashi’s brush wobbles as though it is conspiring against him. What was once the delicate contours of Ennoshita’s lips have now turned into some kind of watery smile. Akaashi glares at the offending brush for a moment.

“Well, I messed up your mouth just now and I definitely can’t take that back. When something like that happens I go along with it. So to fix your mouth I’m going to cover it up with a nice feather.” Akaashi grins.

“Did you morph me with a bird? Are you going to put big, buff arms on me?”

Akaashi imagines a crow with Ennoshita’s face and arms full of bulging muscle hopping about the court squawking for receives and almost snorts, “I promise it’s nothing like that, Chikara. I’m pretty confident you’d like the painting.”

After carefully painting the feather over Ennoshita’s lips Akaashi switches back to a fine point nib to ink in some details while he waits for the feather to dry.

“So why ink and watercolours?”

“I like the contrast of ink and using dip pens is really fun. Watercolour just feels really free because you can’t accurately predict how the colour is going to flow. It never works precisely the way you want it to.”

“I would have thought the lack of control would drive you crazy.”

“I’m organised, but hardly a control-freak.” Akaashi meticulously inks in some eyelashes, taking care not to smudge his work.

“Actually, it makes more sense if we swapped mediums.” Akaashi thinks out loud. “How free watercolours are reminds me of your creative imagination.”

Without a pause, as though they think with one mind Ennoshita adds, “And the precision of a machine and being able to edit to avoid mistakes suits the way you do things.”

“But you’re not going anywhere near my dip pens.”

“Why not?!” Squawks Ennoshita, indignant.

“I’ve seen how you draw,” Akaashi has noticed that Ennoshita likes to put a lot of force on his tablet pens. More than once Ennoshita has bemoaned that his nibs have been ground to nothing. Also, When Ennoshita hands him handwritten scripts he can feel the indentations of letters on the back of the page. Even a blind man can read it if he runs his hands beneath the page. “How many tablet nibs have you gone through?”

“A few.” Ennoshita replies sheepishly.

“A few…?” Akaashi looks pointedly at him, waving a hand in the air prompting him to go on.

“Fine. A few packets.” He huffs, “You’re way too perceptive, Keiji.”

After a time they both manage to finish their paintings.

A few clicks later and Skype pings Akaashi with the painting from Ennoshita. When he opens it he is greeted with a surprisingly accurate rendition of his face with bright, wild colours. Vibrant reds mingled with bright blues interspersed with boisterous yellows. The colours are loud, but somehow manages to capture Akaashi’s calm demeanour. It makes Akaashi think of a dormant volcano.

“Wow,” Akaashi’s breathes, genuinely impressed,“You make me look alive.”

“You always look alive.”

“Really? I always thought I looked like a walking corpse since I hardly get any sleep.”

“Keiji, you need to take a good look in the mirror.”

Akaashi holds up his painting for Ennoshita to see. He didn’t end up using a lot of colours. Mostly black, deep purples and dark blues. In the painting Ennoshita is front on with that determined expression Akaashi is so familiar with when Ennoshita’s concentrating hard on something he cares deeply about. A crow careens in front of him, wings beating strongly with flight feathers flared out. It obscures half his face but it does nothing to lessen the bright intensity burning in his eye.

Ennoshita doesn’t say anything for a long time and Akaashi begins to worry. Maybe he should have used more colours after all. He hopes that Ennoshita won’t wake his mother and ask her if he’s ugly. Though it would be a funny scenario to hear about later.

After what feels like an eternity, Ennoshita finally gives his opinion, “You’re right, I really do like this painting.”

Akaashi hides his relief behind confident nonchalance, “Of course I’m right. I’m always right.”

In the half darkness of Ennoshita’s room lit up by the pale blue glow of his monitor, Ennoshita’s fingers lace together to rest on his chin. Slowly, in his dark brown eyes something comes alive, as strong as the crow Akaashi had drawn.

Akaashi watches that something wake up and breathe somewhere inside Ennoshita. He can almost see Ennoshita’s creative block thaw out, giving way to the dormant fire that Ennoshita doesn’t know he has.

Quietly, Akaashi is ready with his metaphorical shovel full of coal to feed these flames of inspiration. He’s ready to support and grow Ennoshita’s vision in any way he can. As always, he will play his part to the best of his ability.

Dark brown eyes burning rich and warm almost sear away the cold glow in Ennoshita’s room as he looks straight at Akaashi with _that_ determined expression, “So there’s this script that I’m writing.”

This is what Akaashi has been waiting for. Unconsciously, he mimicks Ennoshita, his own slender fingers twined beneath his chin as he leans forward with interest, “Yes?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DIP PENS *hand movement* I love them to death. I wish I had more time to use mine. Drawing and creating with friends is always one of the best things because sometimes only another creative person really gets the feeling of a creative block.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!


	5. Ghosts and Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ennoshita goes up to Tokyo to visit Akaashi. Now that Ennoshita's started on a script it's a good time to marathon some horror movies for inspiration on shots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOA, it's been ages since the last update. At least, it feels like it. Anyways, enjoy the fluff =D

A lady's voice over the intercom resonates over the heads of quiet people in the train. She announces Ennoshita’s stop in Tokyo. He spills out of the train with countless others. A sea of bodies politely avoiding touches in the crowded station. 

Ennoshita looks up at a grey sky as a drizzle of rain begins to fall. The weather report that morning predicted a lightning storm starting today. It doesn’t seem too bad at the moment though. Nonetheless, it seems even on a rainy weekend there is always somewhere to go, something to do in the concrete jungle. 

Fumbling in his coat, Ennoshita’s fingers curl around his phone. He’s about to call Akaashi when it buzzes.

**Keiji:** I can see you. I’m over by the exit.

True enough, there is Akaashi in a dark green raincoat frosted with a smattering of rain. Akaashi waves at Ennoshita, droplets flinging from his sleeve. 

Ennoshita waves back and quickly makes his way towards Akaashi. They’ll have to hurry in case the rain got any heavier. 

“Hey, I hope you hadn’t been waiting for too long.” Grinned Ennoshita.

“I’ve only been here for a few minutes.” Akaashi rummages around in his leather satchel as they start heading out of the station, “Did you bring an umbrella?”

“Of course, you wouldn’t stop nagging me about it last night.” To prove his point, Ennoshita jabs his umbrella out into the rain. With the press of a button the umbrella unfurls violently with a loud fwap. Raindrops, falling more heavily now, ricochet off the fabric and splatter Akaashi. Ennoshita grins.

Akaashi seems completely unfazed, aside from the upward twist of his mouth. Another smothered smile. “Okay, that’s good.” He stops searching through his bag and strides forward out into the rain.

“You’re not going to use yours?”

“Oh, that was for you in case you forgot.” Akaashi replies over his shoulder. He slips his hood over his dark curls. “I like raincoats more because they don’t flip inside out if the wind is strong.”

“Always so practical.” Ennoshita shakes his head. He pokes the top of Akaashi’s head with an umbrella spoke. “Have a little more faith in me though.”

Akaashi presses his wet sleeve to Ennoshita’s face, smearing rain on his cheek, “You never learned anything in group projects, did you?” 

Ennoshita can almost hear Akaashi’s lip quirking into one of his sarcastic smirks in his voice. 

“People can’t be trusted to remember anything.”

“Oh come on, you can trust me. I'll have you know that I remember every word in my script.”

A light laugh and Akaashi shoots back, “Is it because you've only written a few pages?”

“You wound me.” Says Ennoshita with an air of drama.

Akaashi leans down to peer at Ennoshita beneath the umbrella. “I'm sorry.” His face is etched with genuine concern. “That was unnecessary.”

Sometimes Ennoshita forgets that it’s difficult to tell if someone is serious without a face to read. Especially since Akaashi seems to have the innate ability to sense a person’s moods.

“I was only kidding.” Ennoshita waves a hand in the air as though to shoo away Akaashi’s misplaced concern. “It helps when you nag me though. I know I have a habit of running away.” He rests his hand on his neck sheepishly. 

He knows Akaashi can’t read him obscured by the umbrella, but somehow, Akaashi catches the scent of guilt in the air.

“Well, you're on track now so that has to count for something.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“That goes without saying.”

“You always say that like it’s a natural fact.”

“That’s because it is.”

And so they continue walking through a crowd of umbrellas and raincoats.

+

Akaashi has never been good with the horror genre. It’s a well-kept secret that his pride will never let anyone in on. 

He tried to play a horror game Konoha nagged him about once. Slenderman it was called. The goal was to gather notes without getting killed by some faceless man with shadow tentacles. He didn’t manage to even get one note. Worse, he hadn’t even seen Slenderman at all before chickening out. So he ended up watching other people play the game on YouTube (with no audio) in case Konoha asked him about it. 

Ennoshita flicks the lights off and plops down beside him on the couch. Deep down Akaashi's not sure whether he wants the lights on or off. On one hand, Ennoshita won't be able to see him scared. On the other hand the darkness makes him more nervous.

“Are you ready to be terrified?”

“Fear cannot touch me.” Akaashi replies coolly and firmly presses play. He wishes there is something wrong with the remote. Anything to stop the movie from playing. Since it’s his house though, of course everything is working in perfect order. The moment the soundtrack starts playing he regrets agreeing to marathon horror movies for research.

About an hour into the movie Akaashi is coping fairly well. He's hugging his favourite cushion close to himself and his mouth is a single impassive line. The jump scares certainly don't make him jump. He does squeeze the cushion a little too hard though. Now he's more confident he could survive the night. This movie might not be that bad for his nerves after all. 

Akaashi looks at Ennoshita beside him. The sight makes sitting through three horror films worth it. Pen and paper in hand, Ennoshita isn't watching the film. He’s analysing it. The pen hasn't stopped moving since Akaashi pressed play. Light plays across Ennoshita’s face, but his eyes are brighter. They're lit with life and creativity, set in a determined face. Akaashi can already tell Ennoshita’s horror film is going to be good. 

Instead of letting the foreboding soundtrack pull him into fear Akaashi focuses on the rough sound of Ennoshita scrawling notes and diagrams across the page. It mixes well with the rain outside. Just as he's slipping into a sense of security the sky shatters with lightning and the tv flickers off. 

Akaashi feels tempted to curl up around his cushion. They are plunged into darkness. 

There’s a pause in the swishes and slashes of Ennoshita’s writing before he uses the light of his phone. “Keiji, you okay?”

“Never been better.” He answers a little too quickly. 

Ennoshita finishes writing his sentence. Eyebrow raised he asks skeptically, “Really?”

“Really.”

In an attempt to dodge any further questions, Akaashi pushes aside the curtains. It’s raining down harder than ever and the wind howls in the pitch black darkness. “Looks like none of the other buildings around have power either.”

That's when he feels something ice cold wrap around his ankle, “GAHHHHH!!!” His immediate reaction is to kick as hard as he can and back himself up against the window if he needs to jump to safety. 

“ACK!” 

Lightning lights up the room quickly followed by a thunderous roar. Akaashi expects to see a cold and pale ghoul dressed in filth. Instead he sees Ennoshita clutching his nose, which also happens to be pouring blood. 

He connects the dots, “Oh my god,” Fumbling around his room Akaashi fetches a box of tissues. “I am so sorry.” 

Ennoshita accepts them gratefully, “You really hate horror, don't you?” He stuffs his nose with tissues and assures a worried Akaashi it's not broken. 

“Hate is a very strong word.” Akaashi furiously tap dances around the question. 

“Hmmm.”

Ennoshita flashes his lit up phone beneath his face. It paints a terrifying, luminous portrait in black, white and red. Made all the more terrifying by Ennoshita’s manic grin.

Akaashi freezes for a moment. Eyes narrow and mouth pulled into a tight line, “Please stop.”

Raising a hand Ennoshita says imperiously, “For five hundred yen I will stop.”

Wordlessly, Akaashi presses the note in Ennoshita’s palm with amazing speed. 

“Oh, I didn't expect to get this far.” Ennoshita gawks at the money in surprise. He looks up at Akaashi with a little too much innocence in his sleepy eyes, “Can I have a thousand yen instead?”

Ok, Ennoshita is really pushing his luck here. Akaashi is desperate not to get any heart attacks though. An extra five hundred yen note appears in his hand. 

Ennoshita stops him, eyebrows furrowed. He returns Akaashi’s money. “Oh, Keiji. If you weren’t ok with horror you should have told me.”

“It’s only experiencing it that I don't like. I'm sure I won't have a problem making a horror film with you.”

“I never would have guessed you didn’t like horror.” Ennoshita laughs. “Some of your suggestions were evil.”

“Thank you.”

“Ok, I promise not to scare the crap out of you. Let’s call it a night shall we? Can't do much with power out.”

+

It's only when his head hits the pillow that Ennoshita remembers they're both insomniacs. The chances of them falling asleep are slim to nothing. 

Akaashi insists that Ennoshita should sleep on the bed, “I won’t have my guest sleeping on the floor.” So Akaashi is bundled up in a futon beside the bed.

Aside from the sound of rain and thunder there is silence. It actually feels really comfortable. Even so, Ennoshita feels like he should say something. 

Propping up his head on his hand Ennoshita peers down at Akaashi. Eyes adjusted to the darkness, he catches the subtle glint of Akaashi’s narrow ones. “Hey.”

“Good morning.”

“It’s still night.” Ennoshita balked.

Casually turning his phone on, the light bathes Akaashi’s face in a pale blue glow. “According to my phone it's past midnight. So technically it's morning.”

“Isn’t morning when the sun rises?”

“That’s another perspective.” Akaashi nods. His hands are shaking as he taps on his phone.

“Are you cold?”

“It’s a little chilly since heating is down with power as well.” He pulls the sheets closer around him and gives Ennoshita a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, don't worry."

Ennoshita throws one of his blankets over Akaashi. Knowing Akaashi and how stubborn he is about accepting help, he would never take the blanket if Ennoshita asks.

Akaashi's eyes widen in surprise, “Are you sure?”

A protest is already forming on Akaashi’s lips. Before he can do anything Ennoshita gets out of bed and firmly tucks the blanket around Akaashi.

“Promise to let me know if you get cold.” Akaashi feels the need to repeat the request three times.

“I’ll swear a blood oath if you want.” Jokes Ennoshita.

Before long, Ennoshita is shaking like a leaf. He wraps the blankets closer and curls up thinking it would help. Somehow, the sheets just won’t warm up. 

“You’re shivering.” Akaashi’s voice drifts over to him. He sits up and rests his arms on the mattress by Ennoshita’s head. Akaashi lowers his head onto his arms and watches him closely.

“I'm fine.” A blatant lie. Ennoshita knows Akaashi can see right through it. He doesn’t want to admit he probably needs that blanket back.

“Chikara, I can see you shivering.”

“An optical illusion.”

Akaashi shakes his head in exasperation, "What happened to that blood oath, hm?" He throws the blanket he received over Ennoshita and goes back to bed. 

A little later the temperature only plummets further. This time it’s way too cold for Ennoshita not to say anything about it. He notices that Akaashi has been drawing his blankets higher and higher over his face trying to hide his discomfort.

“We're both cold.” Ennoshita says through chattering teeth, “How about you grab your blankets and we share the bed? It would be warmer.”

Akaashi thumbs his chin in thought, “It’s the most logical solution.” He adds his blankets to the pile on Ennoshita. “Move over a bit.”

Ennoshita makes a small opening in his blankets and hisses at the intruding cold. Akaashi climbs in and settles beside him. It’s a bit of a squeeze in a single bed, but at least it’s warm. Ennoshita relishes the warmth from their arms pressing together. 

Ennoshita can’t quite hold back the grin spreading on his face, “Want me to hold your hand? I’ll protect you from the monsters under your bed.” He still can’t get over the fact that Akaashi hates horror.

Without a pause Akaashi says, “It’s ok. I checked. There aren’t any.” 

He said it with such a deadpan look Ennoshita can’t tell whether Akaashi is serious or not.

“When I was a kid,” Akaashi begins quietly, “I took sleepovers quite literally. My friends would come over and we’d play a few games. I didn’t realise that you were supposed to stay up all night playing and talking at sleepovers.” He gestured vaguely at the ceiling, “So as soon as it hit bedtime I would turn the lights off and go to sleep. Of course, my friends told me that it was boring and we never had sleepovers again.”

“Kids are cruel.” Ennoshita read somewhere that children needed to be taught to be kind. How it isn’t exactly an innate thing.

“And bothersome. Expensive, too.” Akaashi adds.

“Not a fan of kids, I take it?”

“Keep them away from me.” Akaashi’s face twists into a look of disgust as though a snotty brat really is in the room. “What about you, Chikara?”

“Responsibility is scary. I’m definitely not ready for children. Maybe when I’m an actual adult able to support a family.”

“Thirty and financially stable.” Akaashi nods with approval, “Sounds like a solid plan.”

“It looks like this sleepover is going excellently.” Ennoshita bumps Akaashi’s shoulder. “Watching movies counts as playing. Neither of us are asleep and we’re talking.”

“That depends. Are you going to tell me I’m boring tomorrow morning?”

“No. You’re quiet sometimes, but you’re not boring.”

A long pause follows after that. Ennoshita wonders if he’s the one boring Akaashi to sleep. If that’s the case then he’s a bit envious. He’d like a bit of sleep too. The problem is Akaashi’s not boring.

“Thanks.” Akaashi mumbles as he wriggles to find a more comfortable position. “You’re not boring either.”

“Was that a compliment?”

“Just take it.” Akaashi snaps irritably.

In the rain and thunder huddled up in their cocoon of warmth they talk about everything. Sometimes they talk about nothing at all. Eventually their voices quiet down to whispers punctuated with a laugh quickly smothered by a hand, “You'll wake someone. Stop laughing!” Their whispers drift off to nothing. Only even breaths of sleeping can be heard under all that rain.

+

The next morning the dark clouds have gone and the sun is out again. Ennoshita left on the train. Akaashi shields his eyes from the sun. When he squints he thinks he can just make out the train. A silver snake slithering between the buildings.

**Keiji:** Come visit again soon.   
**Chikara:** Definitely! That was the best sleep I’ve had in a while.   
**Keiji:** I knew it. You’re only here for the comfortable bed and free food!   
**Chikara:** Hahaha, come down to Miyagi. My bed’s not bad and there’ll be free food.   
**Keiji:** Sounds like a plan.   
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really loved writing this chapter. Somehow it ended up getting fluffier and fluffier as I was writing it. Hopefully you guys enjoyed it. Let me know what you think in the comments! 
> 
> Also, there's an [EnnoAka weekend](http://ennoakaweekend.tumblr.com/)!!! Argh, I'm so pumped for it. I'll definitely write something for that weekend =D So keep an eye out for it when the time comes. (It's still a time away, but oh my god. I'm so excited I feel like those people counting down to Christmas in January.)


	6. Schemers and Manipulators

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ennoshita doesn't think he's a nice person and Akaashi takes full advantage of his face.

“Cut!” Ennoshita claps his hands together. “We're doing great everyone! One more scene tomorrow and we're all done. Thank you so much!” He gives everyone on set such a warm smile that Akaashi can’t help but smile back in return. It seems the effect on the actors and behind the scenes people is the same. Weariness drains from their faces like rain giving way to the sun.

It was a long two days straight of filming. Tiring, but fun. Akaashi found himself enjoying the scary parts of the film as well. That was something he didn’t expect. Ennoshita's enthusiasm is infectious. 

Akaashi is folding up the tripods and making count of each one when he notices their protagonists, Kageyama and Kunimi. While Kunimi is calm as still water and unreadable as a foreign book, there was a sort of tension in Kageyama he can’t quite place. The shot is over, so there's really no need for them to remain in character. 

Collecting some of the smaller props in a cardboard box Akaashi keeps an eye on the two. He wanders over to Ennoshita, “Kageyama and Kunimi make excellent protagonists, don’t they?”

Kageyama looks like he wants to say something. But before he manages to do so Kunimi has already left with his friend, Kindaichi. Kindaichi’s hard look towards Kageyama in that split second is quite interesting. A slight wrinkle on the bridge of his nose with hostile eyes, down turned brows and a twisted mouth. It's a look of concentrated anger with a hint of regret that turns Kageyama to stone for a moment. How interesting. There's definitely nothing like that in the script. Something real is going on between the three. 

Ennoshita finishes skimming over the storyboard and shot list for tomorrow’s scene. “Yea, Kageyama has a naturally scary look.” 

At the sound of his name Kageyama turns towards them and literally sparkles. All traces of previous discomfort banished, Kageyama’s look suggests, “Did I do well? Was it scary enough?” It reminds Akaashi a little of Bokuto. 

“I see.” Akaashi gives Kageyama a small smile and a thumbs up. Ennoshita's comment isn't exactly a compliment, but if Kageyama’s happy with it then it’s fine. “So it's not just because he happens to have pale skin and black hair?” 

Spotting something on the other side of the room Ennoshita reacts with exaggerated surprise and starts to walk over to whatever it is he saw.  “Nope,” he replies casually over his shoulder.

Every movement Ennoshita is making right now screams that he's acting. His posture is a little too proper without the slight slouch he slips into sometimes.  _ He’s running away _ , Akaashi can sense it.

Akaashi stubbornly follows him on light feet. He’s onto something interesting here. He won’t let go that easily. “It’s almost like they’re genuinely,” Akaashi pauses with a pointed look at Ennoshita, “uncomfortable with each other.” 

An almost invisible shiver runs across Ennoshita’s body. At that moment Akaashi knows he's cornered Ennoshita. 

He outright asks Ennoshita then. There's no way he can dance around this question, “What’s his history with Kunimi? I'm curious.”

Ennoshita sighs and closes his eyes. “They used to be on the same team back in middle school,” He raises an open hand to stop Akaashi from interrupting him, “Don’t be mad at me.”

“Why would I be mad at you because they were on the same team in middle school?” That doesn't make sense. Ennoshita is sure to explain though, since Akaashi has come this far. 

“Because I’m not a nice person.” Ennoshita says plainly. 

Akaashi laughs a little at that. Ennoshita is beginning to look slightly mortified so he tries to hold it in. Ennoshita says he’s not a lot of things. Always saying that he’s not that smart, hardworking or creative. Granted, Ennoshita isn’t a shining genius or a grand hero, but Ennoshita really should give himself more credit. He’s amazing in many ways, he just can’t see it. 

Akaashi crosses his arms in mock disapproval and plays along with Ennoshita, “Ok, what did you do, not-nice-person?”

“Well, as I said, they used to be on the same team.”

“Go on.” Akaashi waves his hand a little, palm up to prompt Ennoshita.

The words come out in a tumble so fast the syllables almost melt into each other. Luckily, over their period of friendship Akaashi has heard Ennoshita talking about his worries before. Ennoshita tends to talk quickly when he’s worried or nervous. In this case, it seems to be the latter. 

“He was completely rejected by his team so they don’t get along all that well. And I thought that genuine emotion could translate excellently on film. You know, since Kageyama was really affected by it and Kunimi isn’t bothered at all. I think Kunimi’s fine with Kageyama as long as they're not playing volleyball on the same team. Sometimes I think Kageyama wants to play with him again though. Anyway, that went on a weird tangent. This is getting really long. Is that okay?”

Akaashi barely has time to nod before Ennoshita continues at full throttle. 

“Point is, Kunimi is the perfect ghost Akira to Kageyama’s human Akira.” Ennoshita takes a deep breath, “Ok, I’m done.”

“You’re going to win Kuroo's title as the Scheming Captain next year,” Akaashi squeezes Ennoshita’s shoulder, “That’s high level manipulation.”

“You don’t think any less of me?”

“No,” Akaashi sorts the boxes of equipment apart from props. “We use petty tactics like that sometimes to drag Bokuto-san out of his emo mode.” 

“We'll have to stop you from doing that then.”

“I'd like to see you try,” Akaashi laughs. “We’ll crush you on the court.”

By the time everything's packed up everyone else has already gone home. Akaashi double checks the list and begins crossing off items. Everything’s back except for that one lens cap that’s been missing for a while now. Tapping the end of his pen on his lip he thinks back to when he last saw it. It’s a little thing, but it’s irritating that it’s the only thing not crossed off. Also, covering the lens with a sock tied on with a rubber band is just wrong even though it works. How does he know if the sock has been washed recently? Where has it been? 

He feels a strange tingling feeling run up the back of his head. The kind of ghostly touch that feels like he's being watched. He turns to see a camera pointed in his face followed by a bright white flash that blots everything out. He freezes over completely and blinks at the fluorescent after image printed beneath his eyelids.

That flash really is way too bright. He blinks rapidly, slightly concerned he's going to go blind. Earlier in the day he had to stop Tsukishima casually blinding Kageyama on break with the camera. 

Ennoshita’s camera droops down as he checks the photo on the LCD screen, “Wow…”

“Hmm?” Akaashi hums, still blinking. The after image is fading and his eyes seem to have survived.

“Akaashi, you don’t look good in front of the camera at all. It’s really surprising.” Ennoshita presses a few buttons on the camera. Akaashi guesses he's zooming in for a closer look. 

“Surprising?”

“You’re one of the best looking people I know. So it's weird you look this bad in photos.”

Akaashi never does turn out well in photos or film. Even though he thinks he looks good normally in a mirror. Still, that coming from Ennoshita is a bit rich. 

“Thank you,” Akaashi says dryly. “I also find you incredibly attractive.”

Sly smile on his face he shows Ennoshita the stealth footage he took earlier. 

It was during break time and he thought the lighting was pretty for the normally harsh sun at noon. The large tree Ennoshita, Futakuchi, Shirabu and Yahaba sat under for lunch had sprawling branches bushy with jade green leaves that softened the light.  The lighting was very romantic, soft and peaceful. Except Yahaba was drawing dicks with eyeliner on a napping Shirabu’s face. Futakuchi was shaking with suppressed laughter. Ennoshita didn’t look impressed though he made no move to stop Yahaba. There was a quirk in Ennoshita’s mouth that Akaashi liked. 

Futakuchi as always, shines on film. Very telegenic. It’s almost impossible to take an ugly shot of Futakuchi. Unfortunately for Ennoshita, that attractive half-smile somehow doesn’t show up on film. He looks even sleepier than real life with smushed in eyes and looks kind of fat. To be honest, it doesn't resemble him. Akaashi can’t explain how it happened. For now, he'll tease Ennoshita with this wonderful footage. 

Akaashi is smirking. Ennoshita is horrified.

Ennoshita is silent for a long time until he recovers. “Thank god we’re always behind the camera,” Using what Akaashi likes to call his director voice Ennoshita commands, “Delete it.”

Akaashi grins, “Ok, you delete mine and I’ll delete yours. We’ll press the button at the same time.” 

“Deal.”

“Three. Two. One.” Akaashi counts down and moves to press delete. At the last second he stops and side-eyes Ennoshita,  “Hey, why didn’t you press the button?”

“Because you didn’t press the button,” Ennoshita says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. “Come on, I have to be sure that you’re going to press it.”

“You count down then.” 

“Three...two…one.” 

Akaashi doesn't hear the telltale beep and stops pressing his own delete button, “ _ Chikara. _ ”

“Ok, ok! I’ll do it properly this time.” Ennoshita waves his free hand in front of him. “Three. Two--”

Akaashi grabs onto Ennoshita's wrist and leans in close to him. Close enough to see the chocolate flecks in Ennoshita’s irises. He'll have to take a photo of that at another time. 

Akaashi’s lying if he says he’s unaware of the effect his face has on other people. It seems like Ennoshita is also affected in the same way. For extra measure Akaashi lets a smile seep into his eyes.

Ennoshita pulls back slightly. A hint of a blush on his face. 

Akaashi presses Ennoshita’s thumb down and a small electronic beep later that unsightly photo is erased.

Akaashi releases Ennoshita from his hold and straightens up with a triumphant smile. As promised, he deletes the footage from his camera. 

“And you call me manipulative,” complains Ennoshita, tugging the camera strap over his head. His ears have gone red.

Akaashi doesn’t tell Ennoshita he's already saved the footage on his portable hard drive. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOA it's been so long! I looked at the last update date right now and I can't believe I haven't updated this in three months D: Hopefully you guys still remember this story. As always, let me know what you think in the comments V^^V 
> 
> Also, this fic will be finished. No fic of mine will ever be incomplete. I'm vehement about that. If you're wondering about the length, I've got lots of chapters planned *hand movement* LOTS. At the moment total chapter count is 14, but it's going to be more than that.


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